Unprocessed Evidence
by BookwormDragon
Summary: A series of connected one-shots featuring Horatio's thoughts and feelings during key moments of every episode.
1. 1x01 Golden Parachute

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x01 - Golden Parachute**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Well, this was awkward. Too many bosses in the workplace was like too many cooks in the kitchen: the stew always ended up being over-salted.

Megan was used to being in charge, he could understand that. And it would be easy to fall back into their old patterns of interaction: she as the boss, he as the stubborn and independent subordinate.

But things had changed. While she had been away, grieving for what she had lost, the world had moved on. He hadn't asked for this job, it was true, but it _was_ his job now.

Megan was afraid of her instincts, afraid that they would betray her, but he was not. Instincts alone were not sufficient, but they weren't something to be disregarded, either. On the bomb squad, he had learned to hone his instincts into a precise and useful tool, and for the past six months he had reveled in the freedom to finally use that tool as it was meant to be used.

He wasn't going to go back to the old way of doing things just to please the woman who used to be his boss. He respected Megan for what she had taught him, and cared for her as a person, but it was time to spread his wings and step out of her shadow. He liked standing in the sun.

Right now, his instincts were telling him that they needed to process the scene immediately, before vital evidence was lost forever, and he was going to listen to those instincts, regardless of the rules.

She was wrong, it _was_ his call now, and he was going to make it: rules were important, but they shouldn't be allowed to prevent Justice, the very thing they were intended to protect.


	2. 1x02 Losing Face

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x02 - Losing Face**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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When Speed made his wry comment about the "Top Ten Ways to Get Your Head Blown Off", it was all Horatio could do not to burst out laughing. It was a struggle, but he managed to keep it inside. Mainly because once he started, he wasn't going to stop until the tears came, and maybe not even then. He didn't have time for the luxury of dealing with his emotions right now, they would have to wait until he had caught the coward who had killed his friend and mentor.

Besides, no one but the other members of the Bomb Squad would understand. Sometimes, when you couldn't cry, you laughed instead. And no one had been better at laughing in the face of danger than Al. When faced with the sure possibility that you could die at any moment, without warning, rhyme or reason, laughing in the face of Death became a way of life. As long as you were laughing, you won in the end - even when you lost. You didn't spend much time on the Bomb Squad without developing a rather dark sense of humor, and Al had been on the Squad for a very long time: he would have found the joke hilariously funny.

Reassuring Speed that he hadn't taken offense, he turned his attention back to the only thing he could do for Al now: bringing his killer to Justice.


	3. 1x03 Wet Foot, Dry Foot

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x03 - Wet Foot, Dry Foot**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Sometimes, Horatio thought as he listened to Pedro's sad tale, sometimes, victory was bitter, not sweet.

As a young police officer, idealistic and naive, it was something that had never occurred to him: the idea that catching the bad guy wasn't always the victory it appeared to be. But after nearly three decades on the Force, he had grown used to the bitter taste of ashes in his mouth.

So many what if's on that fateful night. So many choices not taken, so many paths not traveled. If only the Coast Guard had spotted the drifters, if only Pedro had not taken that desperate and ultimately futile action, if only he and his sister had taken a different boat. If only.

Still, at least one person in this case truly deserved the judgement they were going to face. Captain "Bob" would answer to the People for his greed, which had caused the deaths of so many desperate souls and had placed Pedro on his tragic path. The true killer would be brought to Justice. Or, at least as close to the true killer as they were going to get, anyway. The men for whom the drugs were smuggled, the hundreds of thousands of people who created the demand for the drugs by buying them: they were all beyond reach of Justice, for the moment.

For the moment.


	4. 1x04 Just One Kiss

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x04 - Just One Kiss**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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"What a waste."

And it was a waste. Oh, not of the Hamiltons. No, they were the products of generations of money and arrogance. Whatever redeeming features that they might have had had long ago been destroyed by their circumstances, leaving only a sense of entitlement and a moral code that was devoid of any actual morality.

Nor did he feel any pity or remorse for Paul. If not for his greed and envy, none of this would have happened. In fact, Horatio felt nothing but disgust for the man: he had betrayed a sacred trust, selling the person he should have protected for a meaningless trinket. The proverbial 30 pieces of silver, as it were.

But Estevan. Estevan had been a hard-working young man in the prime of his life. Now, all that potential had been destroyed, that bright future snuffed out, in a meaningless and futile effort to protect the reputations of two wealthy monsters masquerading as respectable human beings.

And Jane. A bright, intelligent, beautiful young woman with her entire life before her. Emotionally and physically traumatized by her ordeal, she would never again be that carefree, innocent girl. That future had been stolen from her by the arrogance and greed of others, and she would never get it back. Yes, she would build a new life, a new future, for herself, but it wouldn't be the same.

What a waste, indeed.


	5. 1x05 Ashes to Ashes

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x05 - Ashes to Ashes**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended.

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When Eric told him that there was nothing in the car, nothing that they could use to hold this despicable man responsible for his crimes, Horatio didn't want to hear it. He didn't. Unfortunately, as an adult, he couldn't stick his fingers in his ears and sing "la, la, la" until reality went away, but he wanted to. This was not a reality that he wanted to accept. It wasn't right, wasn't fair, wasn't _Just_.

If anyone deserved Justice, it was this woman and her innocent, unborn child. Their souls cried out to him, pleading for Justice, for peace. And he couldn't provide it. He, who had dedicated his life to speaking for the dead, speaking for the victims of hatred and violence, couldn't speak for these two innocent souls. He _knew_ the man was guilty, he _knew_, and yet he couldn't touch him. He couldn't touch him.

From hard-won experience, Horatio knew that this was going to be one of those cases. It was going to torment his sleep, populate his nightmares, press on his soul. It was going to follow him for years, until he either brought the killer to Justice or one of them died. He hated these cases, he really did.

Patting Eric's shoulder in reassurance, Horatio was struck with a brilliant idea: if he wasn't going to find peace concerning this case, why should Douglass? Recent advances in technology made it easier than ever to predict what the child of two people would look like, and Jeremy just happened to be quite skilled with these types of reconstructions.

Three hours later, as he watched Douglass walk out of the interview room looking a little sick, he felt both disappointed and satisfied. He had hoped that the man would crack under the pressure and confess, but he was apparently made of sterner stuff. Pity. Still, he would make sure that the man would never be able to forget his crime: every year on his unborn daughter's birthday, Douglass would find another picture in his mailbox. After all, Horatio had a whole folder full of pictures, and it would be a pity to waste Jeremy's hard work. The picture of the girl on her 18th birthday was especially touching, in his opinion - she would have looked just like her mother.

And when the man finally cracked under the weight of his crime, Horatio would be there to speak for Lisa and her daughter.

Until then, he would keep the faith.

He would not forget.


	6. 1x06 Broken

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x06 - Broken**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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**Warning: Disturbing Subject Matter! Alludes to the sexual abuse and murder of young children. In fact, I have raised the rating of this story to Teen due to the subject matter of this chapter.**

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When he saw her lying there, so small, so delicate, so helpless, his instinctive reaction was to snatch her up and carry her away to safety - but he didn't. He was too late for her, this innocent soul taken before her time: she was already dead. He had failed her in life - unable to remove her attacker from society before he could do harm - but he would not fail her in death. Not this one, not this time.

This was going to be hard for everyone, he knew. He could see it in their eyes, the horror and despair at the depths to which another human being could sink. Each of them were seeing the precious children in their own lives in the place of little Ruthie, seeing their daughters & sons, their nieces and nephews, murdered and abandoned like broken dolls. Unfortunately, for most of them, this wasn't the first pedophile case they had worked, and, sadly, it wouldn't be the last. What a fucked up world it was, when children were in more danger in what was supposed to be a safe place then they would have been out in the unprotected public. The memories they would gain today would haunt them all for months: they would creep into their lives, affect their families, steal their dreams and populate their nightmares. But someone had to speak for this child, had to bear witness to the last moments of her short life. Who better then those sworn to Serve and Protect?

Seeing the sickening house of horrors where Stewart Otis had "played" with his victims, finding the pitiful graves of his previous victims: it all served to solidify their determination. They would prevail, at any cost. Justice demanded it.

There were times when Horatio felt as if he would never be able to wash the revolting stench of humanity off of himself, as if it stuck to him like a noxious slime. Days like this, he wondered if humanity really was the superior species: animals didn't behave like this.

Finally, finally, the sickening monster was within his grasp, sitting in his interrogation room, sniveling his twisted justifications.

"She was flirting with me."

Flirting?! Now he understood what the expression _seeing red_ really meant. Everything he saw was filtered through the crimson wash of his own rage.

Wistfully, he considered putting a bullet through this, this...monster's brain, right between his eyes. Or maybe, he thought viciously, he would start lower, and work his way up...slowly. Wouldn't want death to come too easily, after all.

He savored the image for a moment before regretfully letting it fade. Society reserved the right to administer Justice for Itself, and perhaps that was for the best, in the end.

Besides, thanks to Megan's Law, this monster would never be able harm another child again. He would spend the rest of his - hopefully short - life behind bars, trapped with vicious criminals who despised his kind above all others.

A bullet to the brain would be an undeserved mercy, and Horatio wasn't feeling merciful today.


	7. 1x07 Breathless

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x07 - Breathless**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Staring at Noel's body as Alexx prepared it for release to the family, Horatio felt tired. Tired of the endless cruelties of humanity, of their unlimited ability to harm and kill each other. Humans could treat each other with such callousness, such thoughtless disregard - it was a wonder that they still survived as a species.

Noel's death had been so unnecessary, so meaningless. And what a horrible way to die, intentionally murdered by your lover while sharing an intimate moment.

"At least he gave me a new thrill."

A new thrill. The death of a human being had been reduced to nothing more than a source of adrenalin.

Melissa may have thought that she was reclaiming her sexuality, reasserting power over her own life, but she had completely missed the point. Exercising power over others wasn't the same thing as actually having power. In fact, the more powerful one proclaimed to be, the less power one actually had. The truly powerful had no need to flaunt it, no need to humiliate others with it. For them, power needed no validation.

And no one, not even Melissa, had the right to exercise the power of Life and Death. In doing so, she had crossed a line that should never have been crossed, and there was no coming back from it.

Looking into her eyes earlier today had been profoundly disturbing. She had felt no sorrow for her actions, no remorse for taking a life, no compassion for her victim. Whatever sorrow she did feel was only for herself, not for others.

And the most frightening part was that she had almost gotten away with it. She had almost committed the perfect murder. Who knows how many more men she would have gone on to kill before she slipped up and got caught? She had all the earmarks of a serial killer in the making, and once she had gotten a taste of the ultimate thrill - taking a life and getting away with it - it was unlikely that she would have been able to resist trying it again. And again.

Perhaps Noel's death hadn't been totally meaningless after all. Still senseless and tragic, but not meaningless.


	8. 1x08 Slaughterhouse

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x08 - Slaughterhouse**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Standing in front of the newly installed headstone, Horatio removed his sunglasses and bowed his head respectfully before leaning forward to leave his flowers with the others covering the grave. Senseless and violent crimes such as this always resulted in an abundance of flowers and small gifts, as if Society was trying make amends to the dead for failing them in life.

"Your sister is safe, Luke. You saved her, you know. Your Aunt is planning to adopt her: she'll be well loved and cared for, I promise you that.

Your father was convicted yesterday. Sentencing won't be for another week, but he'll probably get several life sentences for his crimes. He'll be an old man before he gets out, if he ever does, so Erin's truly safe from him now.

And when she's old enough, she'll learn about you, about how you saved her life and tried to protect her little brother. Because of you, she still has a bright future ahead of her. Thank you."

He stood quietly for a moment, the breeze ruffling through his hair, then he took something out of his pocket and placed it carefully on the headstone.

"Rest in peace, son."

Putting his sunglasses back on, he turned and left the cemetery. The dead were at peace, but the living still insisted on killing each other. He had work to do.

Behind him, a small gold badge glinted and glimmered from its perch atop the engraved headstone.

_Luke Caplin._

_Son. Brother. Hero._

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**Author's Note:** For those who might be concerned, Horatio didn't leave his own badge behind, that would have been unsafe. He left one of the courtesy badges that the Department sometimes gives to children who are involved in cases.


	9. 1x09 Kill Zone

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x09 - Kill Zone**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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No excuses.

He didn't know what had driven Harwood to kill four innocent strangers and spread terror throughout Miami, and for once, he didn't care. Anyone who could so callously plan and execute four murders was evil, plain and simple.

Maybe his parents hadn't loved him enough, maybe a lover had left him, maybe he had simply snapped: it didn't really matter. At the end of the day, Horatio couldn't think of a single excuse that would justify killing random strangers in cold blood.

He didn't feel like listening to another murderer snivel and whine and try to justify his vicious crimes. Harwood had wanted too, had practically begged for the opportunity, but Horatio wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. Whatever Harwood's story was, he had heard worse, maybe even lived worse himself.

After all, there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people in this very city who had survived violent crimes, horrible childhoods, and traumatic events of all sorts. And yet, most of them went on to live good, productive lives. They didn't spend weeks or months creating and carrying out elaborate murder plans. They didn't take their anger out on random strangers. If they could manage not to become murdering monsters, then Harwood could have done the same. He had chosen not to, and four families were paying the price for that choice.

If Horatio could make the right choice, the moral choice, Harwood could have done the same. No excuses.

Still, he couldn't hold back a smile as he walked down the busy sidewalk. It was good to see people getting back to their daily lives, without that pervasive sense of terror and distrust that had blanketed the city for the last few days. Moments like these - seeing his beloved city at rest, knowing that Justice had prevailed for another day - were what made his job worth doing.


	10. 1x10 A Horrible Mind

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x10 - A Horrible Mind**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Listening to Ned, Ginny, Teresa, and the other students during the interviews; seeing their pain and confusion, his heart went out to them. He wanted to gather them up and comfort them, to protect and shield them from the influence of men like Metzger - men who would destroy their fragile souls without a care for the consequences.

That Metzger, a professor, someone in a position of trust, could so twist the minds of his students that they couldn't even tell right from wrong anymore: that was the most horrific crime of all in this case. It was hardly surprising that one of his victims had finally snapped under the pressure. In true fairy-tale fashion, he had been killed by his own teachings, by the tool that he himself had shaped. In a strange way, Justice had been served - a primal and harsh type of Justice, at least. You reap what you sow.

Unfortunately, his death did not end the impact of his false teachings; the emotional scars he had left on his students would never fade. At least thirteen bright young people would never be the same again: their trust in Society and their fellow man had been utterly destroyed.

And who knew how many other lives Metzger had poisoned and destroyed in the course of his career? How many children he had twisted and exploited? For they _were_ children. Yes, they were legally adults, but they were still young and naive and vulnerable to men like him. The very Institution that should have protected and nurtured them on their journey to maturity had instead exposed them to a monster.

And Teresa - a young woman who had been broken beyond endurance - would now have to pay the price for his teachings. It was possible that she could successfully plead insanity, but there was still a good chance that she would serve time for murder. Even if she didn't, her actions would follow her for the rest of her life. And all because she had given her respect and loyalty to the wrong man.

But the saddest part of all was that everything Metzger had taught had been nothing but clever lies. Yes, hatred and violence were natural parts of the human psyche. But they had little to do with Humanity's survival as a species. Rather, it was the ability to work cooperatively, to overcome instinctive responses such as hatred, that had allowed the Human Species to survive and flourish. Not hatred, not violence. Cooperation.

Pain for pain's sake did not make you whole, did not lead to balance or survival or anything else that Metzger had espoused. Torture was not something to be admired, hatred was not something to be embraced.

Personally, Horatio agreed with Teresa: he was glad that Metzger was dead. He just wished the cost hadn't been so high.

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**Author's Note:** I found this episode, and Metzger, to be extremely, extremely disturbing. What he did to his students was vile and unforgivable. His research methods were immoral and unethical; they would never have stood up under proper peer review: he must have falsified his methods in order to get published.

Furthermore, the teachings that he espoused were completely and totally erroneous. In fact, current anthropological thought, based on evidence, supports the theory that early hunter-gatherer societies were not nearly as harsh or brutal or devoid of civility as we once thought. Cooperation, not violence, was the key to our survival as a species. Our ability to compensate for our weaknesses by making tools and altering our environments, our ability to work together to accomplish tasks to the benefit of all: these are what gave us the advantage. Not unreasoning violence and hatred and cruelty.


	11. 1x11 Camp Fear

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x11 - Camp Fear**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Today, thought Horatio as he looked down on the silent lab, today had been a Bad Day.

First, a troubled young girl had tragically lost her life. Then, to make matters worse, his mentor and one of his oldest friends had up and quit, just like that. No warning, no notice. Just - gone.

That was the cruelest part of it: Megan hadn't just quit, she had burned her bridges and salted the earth behind her on the way out. He had thought that they were friends - but instead of telling him personally, she had ducked his calls and used their co-workers as messengers.

And to leave a message like that with the Front Desk! He could already hear the whispers: _"Didn't you know, they were having an affair! He was stalking her. She blamed him for her husband's death. He took advantage of her grief. She hated him for taking her job. They had a fight. She took out a restraining order against him."_ And on and on and on. It was a slap in the face, a betrayal of everything they had been to each other.

Even so, there was a tiny part of him that was envious: she had left. She had done what he had never been able to do, and left. He loved his job, he truly did, but there were days when he would have given anything to be a stockbroker or a bank teller.

Days like today, for example: discovering that a mother had basically prostituted her own daughter for nothing more then momentary glory.

But Law Enforcement was more than just a job or a paycheck to him. It was a Sacred Calling, a Holy Purpose. And like any Calling, it consumed his life, gave him direction, made him the person he was. It was in his blood, in his bones. Justice had seized him in Her implacable grasp, and, try as he might, he would never escape.

Never.


	12. 1x12 Entrance Wound

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x12 - Entrance Wound**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Horatio wanted to scream in frustration. Why wouldn't anybody listen to him? First the District Attorney, and now Detective Christian.

Of the two, he found Detective Christian's rigidness to be far more irritating. He could at least understand the D.A.'s viewpoint - he didn't agree with it, necessarily, but he understood it.

Detective Christian, on the other hand, was supposed to evaluate the evidence, keep an open mind, follow all the leads and consider all the possible theories. He wasn't supposed to latch on to one particular theory and force the evidence to fit it, discounting anything that contradicted it. For goodness' sake, even the greenest rookie knew that Time of Death was a fluid and inexact determination!

It was too bad that screaming wouldn't actually do any good! Instead, he would just have to let the evidence speak for itself. All the information they needed to find the real killer and prove that Cole Judson was innocent was out there somewhere - they just had to find it.

And find it they did. Just as he had predicted, the evidence cleared Judson's name and lead them to the real killer. The Landlord, of all people.

Sometimes, there was such a thing as being too smart, trying too hard.

Lee Bastille had almost committed the perfect crime. Almost. If he hadn't decided to frame his tenant for the murder, he would have gotten away with it. But he had actually been too clever, gotten too greedy.

Without the planted fingerprint, they would never have stepped foot into the apartment complex and would never have matched the mold sample to Bastille's bathroom. In fact, they would probably never have solved the murder at all.

Why Bastille had felt the need to frame Judson, Horatio didn't know. Perhaps he had thought that he needed to give the police a suspect so they wouldn't look to deeply into the case. Or perhaps he was offended by the thought of an interracial couple living in his apartment complex. Who knew? Perhaps even Bastille didn't know, himself.

What Horatio did know was that, in the end, the evidence had led them to the right man. They had just needed to stop and listen to what it was saying.


	13. 1x13 Bunk

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x13 - Bunk**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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Horatio had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the shock and dawning awe in Speed's voice. It was - hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. He quickly composed himself before Speed noticed, and redirected the man's attention to the case at hand.

"I swear to you, he just knew! He didn't even look at me, and he knew! The man is superhuman or something. I don't know how he does it." Speed told Eric as they were processing samples a few hours later. The man sounded torn between frustration and awe, Horatio thought with amusement. The air ducts between his lab and Trace easily carried their conversation to him, allowing him to eavesdrop with little effort.

"You know what a mother hen he can be, maybe it's a mom thing - mine always knows when I've done something I shouldn't!" Eric was clearly trying not to laugh at his friend, and failing miserably. "Maybe H was a mother in another life!"

"It's just not fair! I can't figure out how he does it, but it's not fair!" Speed grumbled, but there was laughter in his voice. "It's like magic or something."

Well, no, it wasn't magic at all. Just plenty of practice at noticing the little details. When he came in, Speed had smelled of lab-soap, chemicals, and traces of a woman's perfume. Horatio had smelled the perfume on him before and knew it belonged to a woman named Pam. The lab-soap was from using the locker-room showers, which meant that he hadn't gone home last night, or he would have smelled of his own soap instead. But it was the various chemical odors that had really given him away: fresh clothes would have smelled of fabric softener or the dry-cleaner's, not of the chemicals that were used in the Trace labs. And while Speed might have dug an unwashed outfit out of his dirty laundry basket, it wasn't very likely in light of the other evidence. Ergo, he was most likely wearing the same clothes he had worn yesterday. Speed's shock had only confirmed his hypothesis. No magic or special powers involved.

He wasn't planning to tell the younger man that, though. No point in losing his air of mystery and omnipotence! Besides, worrying over a puzzle like this would do Speed some good. Keep his mind busy while he was performing the repetitive tasks that made up the largest part of his job. Wouldn't want him to get bored, after all - he might miss something important.

And if it meant that Horatio's reputation for knowing everything increased, well, that was just a convenient side benefit.


	14. 1x14 Forced Entry

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x14 - Forced Entry**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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"I wanted Justice!" The desperate cry of a broken man.

"Leonard, Justice is not for you to dispense." Horatio took a deep breath - ever since he had realized that they were talking to the wrong victim, he had been dreading this moment. "And now you're going to pay for it."

The stunned, numb look on the other man's face brought him no satisfaction, just pain and sorrow.

When Detective Bernstein moved to put the cuffs on Leonard, he almost stopped him. There was just something perversely wrong about cuffing a rape victim, something that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Watching as the man was taken to Booking, Horatio wanted nothing more than to scream at the injustice of it all. He had just been forced to arrest a rape victim for the murder of his rapist. For the murder of his rapist, dammit!

If only Leonard had spoken up, had reported the rape. If only Horatio could have obtained Justice _for_ him. If only.

But the social stigma against male rape was still far to strong: even if Leonard had reported it, the chances were good that he would have had a hard time convincing anyone to really listen to his story, to give him the attention he deserved. People just didn't want to hear that men could be raped as easily as women. They didn't want to believe it. And publicly admitting the fact that he had been raped would have been yet another blow to his fragile and damaged sense of self, at a time when he was already hurting and ashamed. Intellectually, Horatio knew these things, he did. He knew that the odds of Leonard actually gaining Justice from the System for the assault against him were slim. He knew it, but he didn't have to like it.

It broke his heart, thinking about it. If he couldn't protect men like Leonard Murphy, then why was he even doing this job? To Protect and Serve: the police motto. His motto. And yet, he couldn't do either when the victims didn't even trust the system enough to report a vicious crime.

Why didn't you come to me? I would have listened, would have brought your rapist to Justice. I would have. I swear it.

It didn't have to end like this.


	15. 1x15 Dead Woman Walking

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x15 - Dead Woman Walking**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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"It lasts for five days." As the sand begins running through the glass, he understands what she hasn't said: _Longer than I will._

Working with a living murder victim is so much harder then he anticipated. When the victim is already dead, there are things that he can do to make a difference: he can bring closure to their family and justice to their killer. And he knows that their suffering has ended, that they are at peace, beyond the cruelty of the world.

But with Belle, anything he does for her will be a hollow victory and ultimately meaningless. She still suffers, she will still die, and there is nothing that he can do to prevent it. Nothing. It's worse because she knows that death is coming - she has time to fear it, to struggle futilely against it. Most murder victims don't have that chance, don't experience that torture, and he can only be grateful for it now. The fear and horror that she experienced when he told her is not something that he would wish on anyone.

Still, he can't help but admire her: even through her fear, she faces her death with a dignity that he would never be able to manage, were he in her shoes.

When he finally apprehends her killer, he calls her immediately to share the news. He feels the passage of time more acutely then ever, now. There is simply no telling how much longer she has - every second that passes could be her last.

Even over the phone, he can tell that the end is near; she sounds so tired, as if every word is a struggle.

"He killed me because he loved me?!" Horatio understands her confusion. It's hard to comprehend how something as wonderful as Love can also be so dark and twisted.

"He killed you because he's a selfish, narcissistic, amoral man who can't feel compassion for anyone but himself." Neither of them acknowledge their use of the past tense. It's a little jarring, telling a murder victim the circumstances of her own death, but at least it's _something_.

"Can I ask a favor?"

"Anything. Whatever you need, Belle. Whatever you need."

"Would you come over, please? I need to talk to you, and I'd rather do it in person." Her voice is fading again as her failing body betrays her.

"I'll be right there. You hang on, Belle, you hear me? Wait for me, I'm on my way."

"I'll wait."

Sitting by her bed, watching her lose her fight against death, he wants to cry and scream at the injustice of it all. She had been so young, so fierce and determined and full of life. At least he has brought her some peace, with his promise to carry on her last case. And he will. To honor her life, he will do whatever is necessary to continue her legacy. Risher Pharmaceuticals is already dead, they just don't know it yet. It's fitting, he thinks, that they are now among the walking dead.

He stays with her until the end, as she requested. She hadn't wanted her mother and sister to see her like that, but she hadn't wanted to be alone, either. Horatio knows better then anyone that death is not a dignified process, so it makes sense to ask him to stay, he supposes. It's the least he can do for her, and still not nearly enough to ease his overwhelming sense of failure.

When it's finally over, he indulges himself for just a moment, letting a few tears fall now that there is no one to witness them. For just a moment, he allows himself be nothing more than a man, grieving for the loss of a loved one. Just for a moment.

Eventually, composing himself, he gently arranges her body into a more peaceful pose and then goes in search of the private nurse. No need for her family to see her like that.

With no question about her cause of death, no autopsy will be required, but the coroner still needs to be called to pronounce her official time of death. And, of course, her family needs to be notified and arrangements need to be made.

Walking out of the house nearly an hour later, he notices that the sand is still flowing relentlessly through the hourglass. For one irrational moment, he wants nothing more than to knock it to the floor and watch as it shatters into a pile of sand and broken glass.

_It lasts for five days._

_Five days._

_

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_

**Author's note:** There's so much going on in this episode that it took me two days to write this piece. At first, I was going to do a light-hearted homage to a certain Radiation Management tech, since the actor who played him also appeared as a main character in another fandom of mine, Firefly. But it just refused to happen. Horatio and Belle were incredibly stubborn, refusing to shut up until I wrote about them. So I ended up writing something incredibly poignant and depressing instead. Sorry. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.


	16. 1x16 Evidence of Things Unseen

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x16 – Evidence of Things Unseen**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended.

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_

As he walked down the narrow hall under the dim red lighting, Horatio was aware of the fact that he was being ridiculously sentimental. Amy Cannon hadn't been an innocent angel just waiting for a White Knight to ride in and save her from the cruel world. Everything Frank had said about her at the marina had been technically true.

Stripper. Junkie. Whore.

But that didn't mean that her life had been meaningless, without value. She had still been a human being. Her life had still mattered, she had still deserved Justice.

His duty to her was done, he had found her killer and brought him to face Justice; there was nothing more he could do for her. She was beyond his reach now, he knew that.

And yet, here he was, standing in her old booth as the shutter flew up.

His gesture was most likely futile: $200 probably wasn't enough money to change someone's life. In fact, if this woman shared Amy's vices, it would barely be enough money to pay for a good fix. But it was what he had.

And there was still a chance that she would be able to change her life for the better. Not all strippers were junkies – some were just doing the best that they could to support their families and survive another day.

And if not, if she just spent the money on drugs and booze instead of something meaningful, well…at least he had tried.

"What about tomorrow?"

Amy didn't have any tomorrows left, but this girl still did. Hopefully, they would be brighter for her than today had been. The business card he had tucked into the money should help with that, if she didn't just throw it away. The _Florida_ _Women's Foundation_ was proof that there were still some people in the world who genuinely wanted to make a difference. They would help her, if only she would let them.

"Tomorrow is what you make of it."

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**Author's Note: **The _Florida Women's Foundation_ does not exist in real life, or if it does, has nothing to do with the Foundation mentioned here. I just made it up.


	17. 1x17 Simple Man

**Unprocessed Evidence**

**1x17 – Simple Man**

by Bookwormdragon

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Neither the CSI: Miami Universe nor any of the Characters in the CSI: Miami Universe belongs to me. No profit is made from this story on my part. No copyright infringement is intended._

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_

"Listen, this is not about the case anymore. Now, it's about winning."

There was a part of Horatio that could understand this sentiment. He was a competitive man, after all. He liked to win. But he took a certain amount of comfort in the fact that he had never allowed his desire to win to overshadow Justice.

Gaining Justice for the victims was always more important than mere winning. Ensuring that an innocent man was not convicted for a crime he did not commit was paramount, regardless of his personal dislike for the man in question.

It would be easy to give in, to stop looking, to do what Don wanted. After all, as Don had pointed out, that was what appeals were for. His duty was simply to testify to the evidence at hand; it was the jury's duty to weigh that evidence and determine guilt or innocence. Either way, his hands would be clean, technically speaking. And honestly, even with this possible new evidence, he personally believed that Lorenzo Escalante was guilty. There was just something about the man that rubbed him the wrong way.

No one would blame him if he got up and testified. The new evidence wasn't conclusive; it could merely be a coincidence or the work of a copycat. Testifying right now might not be unethical, but that didn't mean it would be right.

If he took that step, if he compromised his own principles like that, where would it stop? Next time, would he discount evidence because it wasn't saying what he wanted to hear? Would he allow his personal feelings to outweigh the truth?

Already, he was tempted by the thought of bringing Justice to those who were currently out of his reach. A little manufactured evidence here, some lost evidence there. He could do it. He could do it and never get caught, he had all the necessary knowledge and access, knew how to be careful. Once begun, it would be so easy to continue. So easy. And once he started down that path, he would never stop, he knew enough about himself to admit that.

But if he stepped onto that path, he wouldn't do so alone. His people trusted him to a degree that was both humbling and a little frightening. Calleigh, Speed, Alexx, maybe even Eric: they wouldn't question his actions, wouldn't look too closely until it was too late, until they were in too deeply themselves. It wasn't that they weren't moral people, they were. But they _wanted_ to trust him, to believe in him, and that desire would blind them to the truth until they were as tightly caught in the web of lies as he would be.

And that was something he just couldn't bring himself to do to them. With great power comes great responsibility, as the saying went. His team had given him their loyalty and trust, and it was his duty to be worthy of that gift. For their sakes, he would resist the temptation to take the easy path. It just wasn't worth the cost.

"Well, you know what then? We're not on the same side."

At the end of the day, winning wasn't everything.


End file.
